Friendly Vengeance
by Ink Reservoir
Summary: Every summer and winter, the heir of one of the Leaf Village's most prestigious clans meets with the Kazekage's daughter in preparation for a marriage that will secure the alliance of the Villages. Itachi's plea for more time to commit the Uchiha Massacre is granted, but this doesn't lessen the hurt. When he finally leaves Konoha, his brother is not the only one who wants revenge.
1. Glossary

Shikamaru stared at the prologue of "Friendly Vengeance".

"Why are you mixing languages, though?" he asked tiredly. "How troublesome."

**Glossary**

**This is an alphabetical list of Japanese terms and their definitions used in this Fanfiction. These terms are italicized within the narratives. The list will be updated as needed.**

-chan: honorific used to refer to children and female family members, close friends and lovers.

nii-san: casual way of saying "elder brother" in Japanese.

okaa-san: casual way of saying "mother" in Japanese.

-sama: formal honorific that is used primarily in addressing persons much higher in rank than oneself.

-san: honorific used to express respect between equals.

shinobi: ninja


	2. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

**Friendly Vengeance**

**Prologue**

**A Point of Contention**

Though the ones standing before him couldn't see it, Uchiha Itachi was dying.

He had started dying exactly three minutes ago, when he'd read the scroll that Mitokado Homura had pressed into his hand.

He honestly felt as though he should be more surprised, but the contents of the scroll didn't come as a shock. It was written rather plainly, he thought, almost amused at the dark irony. What they had assigned for him to do would not be taken lightly.

Itachi looked up at their faces. It seemed they had grown impatient.

"Well?" said Danzō. Itachi thought it was ironic the way he acted as though he had a choice in the matter. He was tempted to say "Well?" right back at him, for he wasn't sure what he was expecting. It was difficult to feign any respect when looking at him, though Itachi was well-disciplined.

Still, did they actually expect him to be capable of massacring the entire Uchiha clan by himself in one night?

He looked back down at the scroll in his hand.

"I apologize greatly," he said.

"Are you refusing the mission?" Koharu asked before he could continue.

"Patience, please, Utatane-_sama_," he responded. "I understand the motivations behind assigning this mission to me, but this task is far too great for anyone to accomplish on his own."

"We have discussed this already," Koharu said. "And it is highly unlikely that anyone will be willing to assist you. You understand that undertaking this mission will require you to wear the guise of a missing-nin and traitor, and that returning to Konoha will never be a viable option."

"Indeed."

"There isn't a shinobi in Konohagakure who will take that risk."

"Further," Homura continued. "With the advantage of the Sharingan, we cannot be assured that sending someone who is not a member of the Uchiha clan would be without complication."

"I fully agree," Itachi said.

"You must, then, find a way to do it alone," said Koharu, cutting him short for the second time.

"I understand why you believe I should carry this out alone," he said. "However, with my current abilities, I will not be able to defeat every member of the Uchiha clan."

"There is a reason that this mission was assigned to you, Itachi," Koharu argued. He was beginning to grow impatient with her. Danzō merely looked on in silence.

"Please," he said. "Allow me to request more time."

"Tch," Koharu said.

"We believe that any attempt made to convince the Uchiha not to follow through with the coup d'état would be unwise," Homura stepped in. "Doing so could arouse suspicions of treason."

"I agree," Itachi said. "I do not have any intention of attempting to change their planned course of action. However, the probability of this mission succeeding would increase greatly if I were given more time to prepare."

"We have already taken this into consideration," Danzō finally spoke. "We believe that the highest probability of success would be achieved if you were to awaken your Mangekyō Sharingan."

Itachi fell silent.

"Despite your aloof demeanour," he continued. "There must be some person whose death would cause this to occur."

He was dying, Itachi was certain of it. He could suddenly feel all the heat in the room, pressed against his skin.

"I will not be able to kill Uchiha Shisui," he said at last.

"You mustn't allow your emotions to hinder your capabilities," Koharu warned. "You will not refuse a mission simply because you do not wish to do what must be done to attain the means to complete it."

Itachi looked down at the scroll in his hands again, almost unable to believe the Hokage's seal on it was real. He briefly wondered if Danzō had stolen the Third's ring.

"My concern is not in regards to my emotional endurance," he said, his patience beginning to wear thin. "Currently, I lack the physical capabilities necessary to defeat him."

He was sure they were aware of that. Moments ago they had said he would require the Mangekyō Sharingan to defeat the rest of the Uchiha, and he would need to kill Shisui to obtain it.

Koharu sighed.

"This mission cannot be delayed," Homura said. "Lest the plans for the coup strengthen. We currently have the advantage, as the details of that are still undecided."

Sasuke, he thought suddenly. Sasuke did not yet know of the plans. If he waited, he would not be able to convince them to allow him to be spared.

Still, he couldn't carry out a hopeless mission! Then protecting his brother would be absolutely impossible.

"If I go through with this mission and fail," Itachi finally said. "The Uchiha will know that you were using me as a spy. They will know that you are a threat to the planned coup, and they will know what you had planned to do in retaliation. They will move quicker with their plan, I will be dead, and you will no longer have any means to defeat them. I am not refusing my assignment, I am asking for time to assure its completion. If you do not grant me this, I will not make any more requests. I will put my strongest effort into its completion and still be killed, whether by Shisui Uchiha or by how little of a match I currently am by myself against the three hundred and eighty one people the Uchiha clan consists of. The entire village will face the wrath of the Uchiha, and everything will be for naught."

Silence befell the room.

"Very well," said Danzō at last. "We understand your point of contention."

Itachi nodded.

"You will be granted more time to prepare for the completion of this mission. How long do you think you will require?"

"A few years, at the very least," Itachi answered.

"Years?" Koharu said indignantly. Itachi opened his mouth to give the justification he would have given a moment ago if Koharu had waited rather than interrupting him.

"Very well," Danzō said. "However, in the meantime, you must not rouse any suspicion that you are spying for the ANBU."

"Of course."

"And you must guarantee that the coup d'état does not occur before you can execute the massacre."

"Of course."

"We will check in with you regularly for reports. You must deliver these reports without argument, and answer all questions. Dishonesty will not be tolerated."

"Understood."

"You are dismissed."

Itachi felt like he could breathe again.

* * *

**That Fateful Night**

_Oh no, I'm so late, _Sasuke thought as he ran home from training. Usually, he tried hard to keep himself from panting when he did any kind of training. He hated the noise, and he thought it made him look like he was too weak to endure a little running. Now, though, that he ran the risk of his mom having worried about him or his dad reprimanding him about how Itachi was never late for anything, Sasuke let the shallow breaths take free rein.

The fact that lights were still on reassured him that he couldn't possibly be as late as he was punishing himself for being, but he didn't like to give himself a break. He could hear faint laughter through the open windows in one of the houses as he rushed past it.

"Oof!" he grunted as he smacked into someone. "I'm sorry-"

"Watch where you're going, Sasuke-_chan_," said his aunt.

"Sorry, I'm really late getting home so, um," he said, gasping for breath. She laughed.

"I understand. You should be getting home now, Mother and Father are probably worried about you."

He nodded. "Thanks, Auntie Masako," he said, then broke into a run once again.

Sasuke caught something about training and Itachi as he went.

His biggest concern that night was that his parents would be angry with him.

(Or that there wasn't any dinner left.)

As he threw open the door to his house and kicked off his sandals, it never once occurred to him how significant this night might have been if events had gone differently. It was just like any other ordinary night, and his only resentment toward his older brother regarded how annoying his perfect attendance was.

* * *

**A/N: Hello, world. This is the first multi-chapter Fanfiction I have ever started with an actual plan in mind. Yes, I really do intend to finish this one. It's going to consist of eleven arcs and an epilogue, so I'm just going to warn anyone who doesn't want a long Fanfiction that this is going to be one, and I'm not going to be offended if that puts you off, hahaha. ItaTema _is _going to have a presence in the Fanfiction. I'm not going to say whether or not it'll actually work out or whatever but don't be alarmed when you get to that because it wasn't in the prologue. Don't worry, she's in chapter one. I'm definitely looking forward to writing this and hopefully you'll enjoy reading it. Thank you, and welcome to the ride.**


	3. Chapter One

**Disclaimer: Panic! At the Disco did not come up with the title of this chapter. Also, I don't own Naruto.**

**Friendly Vengeance**

**Chapter One**

**It's a Good Thing the Laughs Outweigh the Worries**

The blinds were closed in Itachi's bedroom, blocking the sunlight from shining in his eyes as he lay in bed, staring at his ceiling. Things were moving quicker than he'd anticipated when he had asked for more time to prepare for his mission to slaughter the entirety of the Uchiha clan, and he had been stressing over what to do with the unfurled scroll beside him for an hour.

That morning, Itachi had opened the door to the worried face of Iroha, the message-bearer of the Uchiha clan.

"Is your father home?" she had asked apprehensively.

"No, he's on a mission and won't be back for several days," he answered. "Is something the matter?"

"Ah- no," she stammered. "What about your mother?" Itachi had shaken his head and ignored the obvious lie. She stood on her toes, looking behind him. "Well," she said, giving up. "Please deliver this to one of them when they return."

She handed him a scroll with a broken seal. Itachi could tell by glancing at it that it didn't belong to any particular clan. It was a regular seal, the type that could be bought from any store. When Iroha left, Itachi had unrolled it. It was an anonymous threat against his father. Not death, but disablement, which was considered worse in the world of_ shinobi_. Itachi had sighed and rolled it again as he walked to his room. He wasn't worried- anyone stupid enough to send a scroll before attacking the head of one of the most powerful if no longer the most esteemed clans in the village was too stupid to succeed. Still, this scroll would only further fuel his father's anger and the mounting pressure to commit the massacre would pile higher on Itachi if the ANBU somehow found out.

Now, lying in bed with the scroll beside him, Itachi wondered if he should attempt to hide the scroll. Still, though, if he did-

There was a light knock on the door. Itachi sat up.

"Come in," he called.

"_Nii-san_?" Sasuke poked his head in Itachi's room before sliding the door open fully. "Temari-_san_'s here."

"Thank you," Itachi rose to his feet. He had been waiting for her to arrive. When Itachi was seven years old, the Sand and the Leaf Village had agreed the heir of the Uchiha clan would wed the Kazekage's daughter to secure the alliance between the two villages. Ever since then, Temari had spent July and August in the home of Itachi's family. It had been the Third Hokage's idea that they get to know other before they were married when Temari turned nineteen, because he said the alliance would be more successful if the marriage was successful. Itachi, in turn, spent two winter months every year in Suna, though there was talk of shortening his visits to one month a year in order to better maintain his increasingly busy schedule.

Temari greeted him with a broad grin.

"Took you long enough to open the door," she joked without saying 'hello'. "I was just thinking you wanted me to go home!"

"You're early, Temari_-chan_," Itachi defended himself, then nodded at her escort. The pale-eyed Suna-nin whose name always slipped his mind coughed.

"You're all right, then?" he mumbled and Itachi nodded.

"Thank you."

The man looked at Temari, who waved, then he nodded and retreated with his team.

"Happy birthday, by the way!" Temari exclaimed, sliding off her sandals as they entered the house. Itachi had turned thirteen about a month ago on a mission in Kumogakure.

"Thank you," he said as Temari rummaged through her shoulder bag.

"Hang on, I know it's- aha!" she said triumphantly, pulling a long, thin box from the bag as Itachi dragged her wheeled suitcase into the guest room. "I made it," she held it out to him.

"You really didn't have to," he smiled, taking it from her.

"Says you!" she retorted, gesturing to the kimono she was wearing. It had been Itachi's gift for her ninth birthday last August. He had sent his designs to his Aunt Kyouko, the resident seamstress, and she had put her other orders on hold to make it in time.

Itachi shook his head and pulled the red ribbon that sealed the box. Inside was a fan, and Itachi briefly glanced at Temari before gently pulling it from the box and fanning it out. It was black with three Uchiha crests where Temari normally liked to put 'moons', and it was made from the soft muslin that was a hallmark of the Wind country's trade.

He looked up at her, and she was watching his face eagerly.

"It's lovely," he said, and she nodded, grinning.

"Good, I knew you'd like it," she said matter-of-factly. He put it back in the box and slipped it in his large pocket. "Where's your brother?"

As if on cue, loud footsteps stomped past the closed door.

"Never mind," she raised her eyebrows. "He has the loudest footsteps ever."

"Have you heard my father's?" Itachi smiled, and Temari laughed as they left the room.

"Sasuke?" Itachi called, and his brother stepped into the living room's doorway.

"Yes, _nii-_ oh, hi," he greeted, seeing Temari. Itachi didn't comment on the fact Sasuke had been the one to inform him of her arrival.

"Hey Sasuke_-chan_," Temari smirked.

"Stop calling me that," Sasuke muttered, and she skipped over to him.

"Didja miss me?" she pulled gently on his hair. "I betcha did! I betcha did! You're so cute!" She pinched his cheek and he wrestled away from her.

"St_ooo_p," he whined. "_Nii-san, _she's annoying!"

Itachi shook his head and Sasuke scowled before escaping the room, a loud crash accompanying his every step. Itachi and Temari stood in silence for a moment.

"Is he mad?" she turned to him, the grin still on his face.

"No, not really," Itachi said. "Really, though, Temari_-chan_..."

"I know, I know."

* * *

Temari sat on a _tatami_ mat in Itachi's living room, enjoying the feeling of the Konoha sunlight on her face. It was warm, not hot like it was in Suna. The windows were also better in Konoha, she thought, staring out the ceiling-high ones in Itachi's house. The streets outside were adorned with the Uchiha crest and there was a group of children playing a game Temari couldn't figure out the rules to just by watching them. She turned away from the window, blinking to clear the black spots from her vision and looked at Itachi, who had been silent for the past ten minutes. She had been chattering earlier but given up quickly when he'd only responded with murmured one-word agreements. He was staring at the Uchiha crest-bearing wall with pursed lips and unfocused eyes, his eyebrows drawn downward in concentration. Temari leaned in and widened her eyes to see how long it would take him to notice her exaggerated stare. When he still hadn't noticed forty-seven seconds later, she waved her hand in his face.

"Hm?" he retreated from whatever he was daydreaming about, blinking back into focus. "Ah, my apologies, Temari_-chan_."

"No, it's okay," she reassured him quickly, laughing at his surprised expression. "I stared at you for like an hour but you didn't notice."

"Did you?" he smiled.

"Have I ever lied to you?" she quipped and he shook his head.

"Let's go eat ice cream," he said, standing up and holding his hand out to her. Temari placed hers in it and let him pull her upright.

"Okay!"

She followed him into the kitchen to see Sasuke standing outside the refrigerator, staring into it.

He shut it quickly behind him when he heard their footsteps. "_N_-_nii-san_," he faltered. "And Temari_-san_, uh, hi! What are you doing here?"

"We were getting ice cream," Itachi said. "What are _you _doing here, Sasuke?"

"N-nothing!"

"Oh, is that so?" Itachi hummed, walking over to the freezer. Sasuke's eyes darted to the door before he looked back at Itachi.

"Okay, okay, fine!" he exclaimed. "I was looking for food! Just don't tell _okaa-san_..."

Temari had learned over the years that Mikoto Uchiha had a strict rule about eating before dinner, especially when it came to Sasuke. He got full easily on small meals so by the time dinner was ready he wouldn't be hungry.

"She'll be home soon," Itachi promised. "Be patient."

Sasuke sighed. "But I'm _starving_."

"Oh, the poor thing!" Temari wailed, walking over to the boy and throwing her arms around him. "Did you hear that, Itachi-_kun_, the poor little kid is _starving_! He works so hard all day, how will he ever survive when no one ever feeds him!"

"Temari_-san_!" Sasuke shouted, struggling.

"Awww," she cooed.

"Temari-" Itachi started when they all heard a muffled "I'm home!" from the front entrance.

"_Okaa-san_!" Sasuke exclaimed, then stared urgently at Itachi. "Please don't tell her, please don't tell her, please don't-"

"I won't."

Temari grinned at him wickedly.

"No!" he shouted. "Temari_-san _you can't!"

"Can't what?" Mikoto said, appearing in the doorway, and Sasuke scampered out.

"Hi _okaa-san_," Temari grinned at Itachi's mother as she placed four grocery bags down on the counter.

"Temari_-chan_!" she smiled. "It's so nice to see you again!"

"Yeah, you too," she said excitedly. "I missed you so much!"

"We missed you too," Mikoto assured her, then moved on to business. "What was Sasuke saying you couldn't do earlier, Temari_-chan_?"

"Oh, nothing, I was just teasing him."

"All right..." she said, looking at Itachi. "Why are you all in the kitchen, anyhow?"

Temari looked over at Itachi and noticed he had put the ice cream away without scooping any.

"No reason, _okaa-san_," Itachi reassured her. "In fact, we were just leaving."

Mikoto raised her eyebrows at them.

"Right, Temari-chan?"

"Of course," Temari confirmed, feeling nervous under the Uchiha woman's stare. "Uh, see you later!"

"Yes, you will," Mikoto agreed, and Temari nearly ran out of the room.

"Itachi-_kun_, your mom is scary," she said in a hushed voice once she thought they were at a safe distance.

"No she's not," Itachi disagreed. "She just doesn't want us setting a bad example for Sasuke."

"Fair enough."

* * *

Sasuke hovered outside Itachi's door that night, debating whether or not he should knock. It was late and he had to go the academy tomorrow, and if his mother knew he was awake she'd get mad at him. Finally, after standing uncertainly for ten minutes he decided it'd be best to just get it over with.

"Come in," Sasuke had to strain to hear Itachi's soft voice, and he opened the door.

"Sasuke?" Itachi looked puzzled, but the expression quickly drifted into something else Sasuke couldn't recognize before going back to what he usually looked like. "Why are you awake?"

"Can I talk to you about something?" he ignored Itachi's question for one of his own. Itachi raised an eyebrow but nodded, shifting over in his bed so Sasuke could sit beside him.

"What's the matter?"

"It's just..." Sasuke trailed off, not sure how to start.

"Yes?" Itachi probed.

"Well, it's about the academy."

"Ah," Itachi said, annoying Sasuke with his knowing tone, but he pressed forward.

"I- well, I just-" he sighed when the words weren't coming to him, then decided to try a different approach. "Okay, you know how we have to work together and stuff?" Itachi nodded. "Well, like, I'm just... I don't know. I just don't like it."

"Lots of people don't like teamwork at first," Itachi said in a comforting tone. "But once you-"

"No, that's not it!" Sasuke cut him off. "I mean, I don't like working in teams and stuff but that's not what I mean!"

"Okay, calm down," Itachi brought his finger to his lips and Sasuke glared at him.

"You don't get it."

"I'm sorry," Itachi said. "Let's try that again. What's bothering you?"

"Well," Sasuke sighed and closed his eyes to calm himself. "It's just... I don't have any friends." Itachi looked down at his hands. When he didn't say anything, Sasuke continued, "Yesterday, I heard a kid telling his friends not to talk to me because I was a 'dumb Uchiha'."

"What?" Itachi asked, shocked.

"It's not even fair, I have the highest scores in the entire level!" Sasuke clenched a fist. "So I told him that and-"

"Sasuke," Itachi shook his head.

"What?" Sasuke glared at him. "He was being a jerk!"

"Still..." Itachi insisted, then sighed. "Go on."

Sasuke didn't miss a beat. "So his other friend told me to go away! So I did and I said 'I don't wanna talk to you jerks anyway'!"

"You have to stop calling people jerks," Itachi reprimanded him.

"_Nii-san_..." Sasuke whined.

"_Sasuke_," Itachi whined back.

"Shh!"

"Isn't Naruto Uzumaki in your class?"

"Yeah, so?" Sasuke made a face. Naruto would be the loudest kid in his class if he was actually in class more often instead of doing a bunch of dumb things that got him sent outside.

"Why don't you try and be friends with him?"

"Ew, why?" Sasuke said incredulously. "He's more annoying than Temari-_san_!"

"Sasuke!"

"What?" he protested. "She is annoying. Like the girls in my class but bigger."

Itachi sighed disapprovingly. "You should go to sleep, Sasuke."

"Fine," Sasuke said, getting up and crossing his arms. "You know, you're not very helpful."

"Maybe people would like you more if you were nicer to them."

Sasuke stared at him. "You're on _their _side?!"

"There _is_ no side."

"Tch!" Sasuke copied his father. "Traitor!"

"I'm sorry," Itachi said sarcastically.

"No you're not!"

"Sweet dreams, Sasuke."

"I hope you dream that a bear eats you."

Itachi laughed which only infuriated Sasuke more.

"Thank you."

"You're not welcome!" he stomped out of the room.

"People are sleeping!" Itachi called softly after him and Sasuke tip-toed angrily back to his room.

**A/N: And so it begins. I'm not really sure what else to say but I feel like I ought to say more. You know, I actually wrote this chapter a couple months ago but wasn't planning on posting it until I finished the chapter I'm currently working on. Unfortunately, that one isn't done yet. Don't worry, though, I WILL get that done and you WILL see the end of this Fanfiction. Promise. ****So yeah, enjoy! Once again, reviews are always appreciated and I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it! **


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